and lesbian groups are unimpress wide the arkpology he made about the first openly gay buss - ambassador who was aggressively gay. >> you are not prepared to say it is it a filibuster. >> i can tell you there is it very little republican support for his nomination. in the end of the day there will be very few votes. >> his service in vietnam where he was awarded with two purple hearts qualifies him . the white house will defend his record on israel. he has been over supporter of israel and security requirements and spoke out forcefully and written about it in the book and critic of

israelis and that's part of the job. >> president obama said he sees nothing to disqualify hagel. >> thank you very much. looks like fireworks ahead. pressure is mounting on lawmakers about the egypt's ties to muslim brotherhood and if the hardware would be used against israel. our government is planning to sendifier yets other aid. it is courtesy of the american taxpayer. the deal that was signed when former egyptian president hosni mubarak was in charge. joins us is vice chief of staff . along with the senior fellow of the hoover institute. general, it is no secret that

egypt president mursey is a long time member of the muslim brotherhood and waged a power grab. it was done when we knew we had a strong ally in mubarak. >> we have leverage with a billion in aid and continues to arm and train the emanagement. morsi wants the deal that mubarak. he would support the foreign policy the peace treaty and help with the radicals and in return, we have hands off of domestic politics and concerns about political and social injustice and lack of economic opportunity for his people while we continue that aid. that simes to be the path we are on now with morsi . i believe if we continue the aide, it would be condition based so that we have a say about the things that morsi is doing and the actions that he's taken. >> some believe that morsi's

regime distanced itself from washington and morsi who is it the first egyptian leader to visit iran since the 1979 revolution shouldn't be concerned. israel, i mean. >> uma, we are not giving aid to the morsi government or the morsi regime or muslim brotherhood. we'll give aid to the officer core and egyptian of military. they will say what you will, it is not killing its own people. it played a positive to push mubarak under the bus when it was time for him to go. the egyptian military is it only pillar of political stability in egypt today and that's who we have invested our money and our weapons n >> we shouldn't be concerned

about the aid that is going forward now? >> we should be concerned about the direction of egypt as a country . and if you go back and look at egypt under mubarak. the dictator had zapped political life. he was not reliable . he double dealed us . we should not lament the passing of the dictator it is and watch what the military is doing. it is it the only return in carey. it - caro. >> and going on to afghanistan and the effort to move troop withdrawal. it is it risky. there are questions of competence over the karzai leadership and how he would deliver basic services to his people. >> karzai is going to be transitioned in 2014 . we'll not get a transformational government but government that will make

improvements . we shouldn't be too optmistic about major transformation. secondly in terms was what is in the news with the options that are on the table. the suggestion that we leave 6000 tore 10,000 troops behind is a huge mistake for my point of view. it borders on irresponsibility. we left no residual force in iraq. that would be ineffective in terms of supporting the afghan grounds the way they need support. they are an infan tree force . they nide what we are providing . one of those is to provide for those enablers . we want a counter terrorism force that is it jargon to use night raids to kill and capture taliban leaders. you have to do that from multiple bases . these options will not be able

to be fulfilled and meet those obligations . >> a recent pentagon report shows that one of afghan army 23 brigades was able to operate without military support from the u.s. or nato. you expect it to improve by 2014? >> i think the whole engagement is catastrophic and you look at the harvest of what we have done and look at sacrifices of the last 12 years now we had in afghanistan. we don't have much to show for it. we have a karzai as president . dysfunctional units that made habits . the afghan sold yirs were killing our own people and hundreds of billions later, the the fatalities and casuallies. it is it a good wor. but there is nothing good about the war.

the chaos will claim afghanistan and the taliban will claim afghanistan and our work will have been for naught. >> that is it a sobering picture that you paint there. thank you for your insight. i appreciate it >> you, too. >> and rebel sitings are pressing ahead with fencive. there is a car boiming in damascus . in is follows a deadly crash. it is saying they were set off by rebels. battles in suburbs on the way to the airport want and they are are reporting the shooting death of a journalist. >> and now the later on the compromise point. if you have house republicans sharply divide.

gol members are controlling the house. they are outraged that lawmakers didn't hold fast. with the debt ceiling coming up, what impact will this have on the gop? joining me is septemberor from doin dine and wisconsin. >> thank you, uma. >> congressman, i know you voted for the bill and many colleagues are angry you supported it and say you abandoned the gop's core beliefings. did you read the bill before you voted for it? >> i sure did . that was part of the problem. it was over 500 . took time to absorb what was in it i made the determination of going forward. you can only negotiate with somebody who had something to do . that is it a tax and spend posiddings . how would they lose in a deal that gives them 45 -- $500

billion and no spending restraint. if i could fix taxes for nan percent of the americans it was the best deal to get. >> do you agree that you abandoned the core beliefs of the gop? >> no, it is it the other way around. taxes had gone up as of know judge 1st and no way ofing themm doup >> clayton: is it a republican or consebative deal to raise taxes. >> congresswoman. how bad is the device this time. >> we need to q. back and look at the whole picture that taxes were set to go up. democratics book in 2001 and 3 would not grate to a permanent tax rate and in a lam duck section . we had expircome at us and president obama and a crem

crem house and extended them two hear queer ros. this is set to sign the republicans. >> this is a caught and the it is polico division . >> i count this as aks crin write. >> and it pressure how bad is it for you comments. we agreeded on it the to. the >> hover this bill. we recognize woy lost the lention and bowe advising the president on spending and he will get higher taxes. >> is it isy, shame we

dralma. this could have been taken places ago. >> they deserve better than i agree with you. it would be months mey woosee pass off of thasty of there last year. they reponded to tax they took it to the today line . forcing the vote. they did it deliberately and strategically. with we got away from it. house passed the votes ahead of time . the r will senate waited on the to the last minute. >> representative boehner said the real fight with the debt ceiling. he feels that the gop leverage. the president is making the

compromyself. >> going back what congressman rubble said. senator reid walked us to the end and let taxes any up. we have a debt ceiling decision and americans know what the real problem here is. run away entitlement spending. we need to reform the social security and medicare . address the spending in washington. the president got tax increases . so now we have leverage when it comes to the debt ceiling and to the cr and sequestitration we can talk about spending cuttings. let president has more money in the general treasury . now we need to focus on spending cuts and that's where the republicans are unified. we have talked about that two and half yearings. >> we have a big debate coming

up. we'll keep close watch on it >> thank you. >> thank you very much . now to fox newings alert. authorities are saying that four poom are dead including a gunman after a hostage stand off in aurora, colorado. they received reports of shots fired in a town home. after a stand off lasting hours. the suspect shot at a swat team. officers returned fire and killed the gunman. it looks like the three victims were killed before the officers arrived on the scene. another person was in the townhouse and escaped uninjured. food and drug administration proposes more regulation. they are submitting food

safety plants and new safety standard for farmers to guard against produce contamination. harpeds have to be warked and irrigation water clean and animals must be kept out of the fields. it will fight salmonella and listeria. estimated 3000 people die from food born illnesses every year. >> winter is underway. it looks like the flu season may have come early. high levels of a flu of had system joining us in 25 states. >> if you are filing achy or sore throat or feverish or stuffy head and nose and cough. it is it symptoms of the flu. if you are not sick you know someone who is . you are trying to stay away. influenza is hitting hard .

this is what they are saying about this year's flu season. >> we know about this year. it seems to be starting sooner than most flu seasons . the of flu is associated with more severe flu years. >> this is the map on where the flu is hitting. they are reporting high lli. activities in the december. it was texas, new mexico and wyoming, east . states are not required to report the flu tests of people over age 18. we know that 18 people have died from the flu. you can get a flu sot . to givuv a sense of how quickly the new is throw percent of the parents going to the doctor had three-line

simit - on symptoms. we compare that to last flu season that was mild. at the peak of last season, 2.2 percent of the patients were going to the doctor. i guess we all better get flu shottings. thank you for that. and now the developing story. senator michael crapo will not serve jail time for driving drunk. and his license has been suspended for a year and he must pay a $250,000 fine . on capitol hill this week. speaker of the house john boehner was reelected by his colleagues and not every lawmaker was ready to support him. we'll talk to one of the congressman who voted against the speak yer why he think its is it time for change in the

top. one volunteer organization is working hard to save memories. we'll show you what photoeditors are doing to make sure all is not lost because of hurricane sandy. ve a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. [ sighs ] thanks! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth and save $1 visit alka-seltzer on facebook.

>> welcome back a pilots wings were clipped because he was about to fly under the influence. the tsa agent smelled the alcohol. he was in the middle of a preflight check when police boarded the airplane. it came back over the little limit. and the airline has the

results of the blood test. after hurricane sandy. many people lost precious possessions, photographs and first birthdays and wedding kiss and 50th anniversary toasts . now an organization is working hard to help them get the priceless pictures back. the organization is call would care or cherished album restoration and happening super storm sandy victims replace what seems irreplacement. they have recruited photoediting volunteers from around the world. they rode out the storm in ocean side, new york and now piecing their lives back together is one of the hardest things of the 45 year marriage endured. the basement was flood destroying everything that was carefully boxed up.

>> i couldn't get myself to go downstairs to see the damage that was down there. it was too much for me to look at. i couldn't make it down the stairs and he's bringing it up . i said please don't bring it up. i don't want to see it. i want to think of how it was before. >> they stay their wedding pictures are one of the most prized possession and care helped them to keep it in the family for generations to come. volunteers from israel and ukraine are using new technology to remove water marks and reconstructing missing parts. >> now each image. they take 10-17 hour to restore. it is a lot of the time but volunteers say it is worth it. >> you can see the people's stories on the news and on line. i really want to help .

usually you just give money and that's all you can do. here is i felt like my skill set could help more than just the bear minimum. >> and once a week. care sets up a cliction point for them to bring the pictures. they can scan up to 100 photos for an hour. >> photographs look fantastic. >> and it is it a wonderful effort and a great way to preserve the precious memories. thank you. >> it was supposed to be a nail biter. congressman boehner was relected speaker of the house by a comfortable margin and in the wake of fiscal cliff negotiations and fiaso over hurricane sandy. republicans are questioning mr. boehner's leadership . we'll talk to them. congressman lee gomer is coming your way, next. stay with us. .

woman: we're helping joplin, missouri, come back from a devastating tornado. man: and now we're helping the t recover from hurricane sandy. we're a leading global insurance company, based right here in america. we've repaid every dollar america lent us. everything, plus a profit of more than $22 billion. for the american people. thank you, america. helping people recover and rebuild -- that's what we do. now let's bring on tomorrow.

on >> welcome back. it looks like the white house is closing in on its next for the defense minister. we'll have the headlines, molly. >> former republican senator chuck hagel is believed to be the top front runner for the pentagon post. that could set up a confirmation battle.

former colleagues on both sides criticized him on gay rights and u.s. support of israel. taxes may go up on wealthier americans. but the fiscal cliff deal could leave in place deficits over the next deck cade. that's what will happen if congress does not follow up tax increases with spending cuttings. gabby giffords is lending her influence with the sandy hook shooting. you remember she was severely injured two years ago in a mass shooting. is lance armstrong about to change his story on doping charges? he told associates he's considering admiting to using performance enhancing druggings. but armstrongattorney is denying that report. uma, wouldn't it be incredible i didn't do it and you got the

wrong guy, lance armstrong changes the story. it would be and quite a story indeed. >> we'll see if it is born out. >> thank you for that. >> president obama's hawaii vacation is it about to end soon and while the fiscal cliff may be a short-term fince the debt ceiling may be a hurdle between the height white house and gop. joining us is wendall who is traveling with the president. >> the president warned the republicans not to use the fight over the debt ceiling to trigger government spending cuts. but there is it every indication that they will do so . republicans will probably have more leverage than they did in the fight over the fiscal cliff. the problem is, even the threat of defaulting on its debt and lower the credit rate raising the cost of borrowing money and could trigger a

global depreddings. >> if congress refuses to give the united states the ability to pay the bills on time. the consequences to the global economy could be catastrophic. last time our entire economy suffered. our familis and businesses cannot afford that dangerous game again. >> congressional office said it will leave 900 billion a year in deficits. republicans say by raising taxes on the wealthy. they ended the revenue debate. it still requires a balance of spending cuts and revenue from renorming the tax code. republicans do agree that the tax code needs reform. >> the i.r.s. is a nightmare. too costly and unfair. there is it something wrong when they have to hire a

professional to do taxings. you shouldn't need an army of lawyers and accountants to understand our tax code. >> those republicans who voted for the fiscal cliff deal said they voted to protect 98 percent of the country from tax hikes. the teparty is focused on the two percent they did and threatening challenges. and new year's eve. and it is keeping us going for the next couple of monthses. the fight could gip in a matter of weeks. >> and again down to the wire. wendall. i know you are there with the president and coming back later today, correct. >> late tonight, uma. >> thank you. appreciate it two years ago. any chairmanship that i didn't

get, i guess the only one that speaker doesn't have in say. i am co-chair of the thursday morning prayer breakfast bible study. >> that was a congressman gomer on house speaker boehner and the state of the congress. gohmert voted john boehner because we are not about business as usual. congressman is with us now. great to have you here today. >> i know you said speaker boehner is one of the nicest guys around . you voted for florida congressman allen west, why? it is nothing personal to john boehner. he is great if you vote for him. buturped the rules of the house. the person who wins the smeek are's race must get those

present and voting. it is not important who you voted for. but if you vote for a individual. a number of us wanted to make a statement. it is time to look at things. and mike sherman is one of the nicest guys around and they changed coaches and look what happened. sometimes it is good to change things up . we elected john boehner 7 years ago and it is time for a change. he's won but we still have to be about the things we promised to do. they are tough times. tough types are the best time to make the changes that need to be made.

and not make last minute deals. you do what why are agreeing to do or we will not do a deal. we may lose the election. people in the alamogave their lives so texas can be a state. and not worry about the next reelection. and so many people believe that way. i know you are a principled person and not shy. are you saying that john boehner abandoned his core beliefs. high is clear he hasn't abandoned the core beliefs . it is it really despicicable that speaker peel peel had

five people that negotiated all of the deals and the other people in congress were there to vote and raise money . if he's speaker things will be different and not the back room negotiations and since he's been reminded of that. i am going to go back and do what i promised. >> have you had a chance to speak. have you talked to the speaker since you voted and will there be hell to pay for not for him? >> he smiled and asked how a was doing and i was cordial to him and remember, after i nominated newt a couple of months ago. i know he loves me because he told the conference i love you, lou ie. >> it makes me feel good all over. >> and a lot of conservatives are angry over the fiscal . most colleagues didn't read the bill. do you think the house gop has

the will to stand against the speppeding cuts going forward. >> i believe that the house has the political will for whatever the people in the country demand it do. there are so many fantastic people who want to represent the districts. they will represent them appropriately. my concern is what s&p. if we don't do about the massive overspending we are done. >> all right. congressman. thank you for joining us . we appreciate it >> thank you so much. thank you. now, it is time to way in on washington woe's. to you think that the gop has the back bone to stay firm.

tweet year answers and i will read the responses later in the hour. i look forward to that. >> congress may have passed a deal. but next steve forbes will tell us what it take to get deficit under control and back on track. it is it a tall order indeed. stay with us. . i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes.

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>> welcome back everybody. according to one major credit agency the fiscal cliff is not good enough. moodies is threatening to downgrade the u.s. credit rating if congress didn't come up with a solution to the debt crisis. steve forbes has thoughts on welcome. >> thank you. happy new year. >> happy new year to you, too. do you believe that we are facing a downgrade at this point. >> i think it is inevitable. the president is not willing to negotiation of social security and medicare and medicaid . those are the drivers of the budget. it is inevitable and when it happens in the spring, summer or end of the year, but it is it going to come. >> what impact right now when the economy remains so fragile and jobs are tough to find at

this point? >> because of the crazy way the federal reserve has distorted our credit markets with zero percent interest ratings. it will not have much impact at all. what you will see happen. it is it a straw on the camel sagging back on hurting the economy next year. with the tax increases that are coming in . remember, the pay roll tax will go up substantially and you will have a hurt first quarter and small businesses gradually losing more and more confidence and they are the drivers of the economy . that confidence index is going down and it will be roof sledding. it will be worse than this year. >> i think that many people will be surprised when they look at their paychecks with the pay roll tax increase that is going forward. it is it affecting the middle class and not just top two percent as everyone said in

the democraticic side. >> it hurts small businesses and also as you pointed out going to take a piece out of your paycheck. i don't think most people realize what is it going to come. real incomes are taking a hit and business investment is not robust and certainly for most of the year and we'll have a sluggish economy and combine that with europe with recession and china is not doing much. it is a grim short-term picture. >> and going long term and looking at the upcoming fight. republicans in the white house. how do you see that playing out? >> i hope that the republicans learned from the of this fias cano and go on optmist being offense and pass several bill house such as you can't use medicare money to finance obama care and having social security bonds converted in

marketable bond and what that means, uma, if they have a debt ceiling impasse. social security can sell them and make payments. the biggest card they have is if they don't extend the ceiling. republicans have to take that off of the table and the house can start it by saying worthless ious. to be converted in markable bonds . >> and there is no shortage in the fireworks in the weeks and months to come. >> unfortunately. we'll be witness to all thav soon. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you, uma. >> the federal judge is handing them a victory . epa overstepped the bounds by attempting to regulate storm run off as a pollutant. it was making a power and land grab. it was ridiculous for the agency to call water itself a

pollutant. >> the clean water act is supposed to keep the water clean . treating it like it is it a pollutant is asinine under the clean water act. >> the ruling could save virginia taxpayers more than 300 million dollars. >> in jest, texans kid the state that it is it like its own country. it could be trying to break away from the union. meet one of the men leading the movement to susseed. stay with us. . this is america. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day afr day... block the acid with prilosec otc

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>> welcome back. good news to bring to you. a 15 year old pakistani girl that was shot in the head for standing up for girls and

their right of education is out of the hospital. she was discharge would after three month birmingham hospital. birmingham, england that is. she faces a round of surgery to rebuild her skull. she was shot pakistan last october. the taliban targeted her because of stopping young girls from getting education . we wish her all of the best. and there is a movement brewing in texas to get the state to secede from the u.s.. there is it a petition on the white house website that received 124,000 signatures since president obama's reelection. has the fiscal cliff helped thrertheir cause. joining us is it the texas national move the group pushing for secession. tell us why it is it time for texas to secede from the

union? >> well, uma, there is it a lot of reasons that we believe that texas should leave the union. but basically it boils down to political freedom that we have loss. cultural freedom and certainly the economy that you have been talking about on your show for the last 45 minutes. there is it 16 trillion rein it is right there and with the negotiations that went on last weekend, we add 4. something trilion. we have 20 trillion reasons to try to protect the economy and people of texas from what we believe is it a certain coming disaster. >> and you folks are leading a serious effort and you are getting a lot of folks to sign these petitions. how do you characterize the movement in and of itself at this moment? >> well, the movement, the

texas nationalist movement is over 16 years now. it is not just happen negligent recent past. we have worked on this for a long time for all of those reasons i laid out to you. what is happening through the years, the organization has continued to grow and with certainly the election in november. we saw a huge, huge spike in membership . also in activity of the people of texas going and actually looking into the history and the reasons for taking a look at being independent again. for example, since november. we have had 3 million hits on our website. people are frightened and scared and people are understanding that we have a federal government that is out of control and we watched it last weekend, melt down on live tv. >> and so the state's

governor, governor perry said that he believes in the greatness of our union. this is it a quote from him and nothing should be done to change it but shares the frustration that americans have with the government. we need strong leadership from states likes texas that are making tough decision toz live in our means and keep taxings low. >> the governor is not backing your caused but that doesn't matter you will continue f with your efforts? >> yay, we are . i tell you, the state of texas has a constitution, also and our constitution said that all political power is inherent in the people . so what we are working for is this. we want to have a bill file indeed the texas legislature that gives us the, the people of texas a nonbinding revverundum vote and let the people speak their voice and

tell the legislator and the governor in austin whether they want to be independent or not. because all political power is inherent in the people and that is it decision to make and certainly not the governors or the legislators that sit in austin. people need to be heard and they want to be heard and that's why we are seeing so much activity in this texas nationalist movement >> thank you, terry white for joining us and we'll keep an eye on your activities. >> thank you very much. >> we'll be back with more. don't go away. [ male announcer ] this is sheldo whose long day setting up the news

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>> well, we asked and you answered. does the g.o.p. have the political backbone to stand firm against raising the debt ceiling? andrew says they have the backbone as long as they stand by principle, they should be fine. stand by principle or don't stand at all. stephanie disagrees, what backbone? we need a real leader. we thank you for sharing your responses. my thanks to molly henneberg filling in for me last week, happy new year, great to see you again. make it a great day. >> fox news alert, there's growing health concerns and the severe strain of the flu virus continues to make its way across our country. today, it's in more than two

dozen states, including new york city. and it's sent more than 2000 people to the hospital already, killing at least 18 children nationwide. it doesn't get more important than that. i'm jamie colby, this is a brand new hour inside america's news headquarters. >> i'm rick folbaum in for kelly wright. >> jamie: great to see you, rick. >> there are hospitals taking extra precautions, including one in minnesota where officials are trying to cut down on the number of visitors, in some cases closing their doors to guests altogether. molly henneberg is following this in washington and has the latest. >> hi rick, hi jamie more likely there have have been more than 18 deaths in total. and they are not required to report deaths over 18. 18 people have died from the flu. let's look at the map again. c.d.c., centers for disease control information on where the flu is hitting. these 29 states are reporting

what they call high ili activity through the end of december. ili stands for infleew like flu season. >> it seems to be starting sooner than most flu seasons and the strain of flu that's spreading, tends to be social with earlier and more severe flu years. >> reporter: doctors say you can still get a flu shot, it takes about two weeks to become effective and could give you protection this year, to give you a sense how quickly the flu is spreading nationwide, the c.d.c. says at the beginning of december, about 3% of patients going to the doctor had flu-like symptoms, 3%. that jumped to about 5 1/2% by the end of december. and we can compare that to last flu season, which was said to be relatively mild. at the peak of flu season last year, about 2.2% o